"Genome Zoo" For 10,000 Vertebrate Species Now Under Construction - AFP

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In the most comprehensive study of animal evolution ever attempted, an international consortium of scientists plans to assemble a genomic zoo--a collection of DNA sequences for 10,000 vertebrate species, approximately one for every vertebrate genus. Known as the Genome 10K Project, it involves gathering specimens of thousands of animals from zoos, museums, and university collections throughout the world, and then sequencing the genome of each species to reveal its complete genetic heritage.

Launched in April 2009 at a three-day meeting at the University of California, Santa Cruz, the project now involves more than 68 scientists. Calling themselves the Genome 10K Community of Scientists (G10KCOS), the group outlined its proposal to create a collection of tissue and DNA specimens for the project in a paper to be published online November 5 in the Journal of Heredity.

The project was conceived by the paper's three lead authors: David Haussler, professor of biomolecular engineering at UC Santa Cruz and a Howard Hughes Medical Institute investigator; Stephen J. O'Brien, chief of the Laboratory of Genomic Diversity at the National Cancer Institute; and Oliver A. Ryder, director of genetics at the San Diego Zoo's Institute for Conservation Research and adjunct professor of biology at UC San Diego.

"For the first time, we have a chance to really see evolution in action, caught in the act of changing whole genomes," Haussler said. "This is possible because the technology to sequence DNA is thousands of times more powerful now than it was just a decade ago, and is poised to get even more powerful very soon."

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